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The latest update as of November 22, 2020

My apologies to our midwest coorespondent, Bill Jeffery for taking so long to post some of the great photos he took at the final day of the 26th annual World Power Wheelstanding Championship" from Byron Dragway in early October. Ouch! Has it really been that long? Oh well, we've got all the photos sorted and will present the full complement in the Features section very soon.

Not all the attempts ended well as you can see from the last two sets of shots. We'll have the full sequence of this pass and a few other hair-raising efforts posted as soon as we can.

The latest update as of November 15, 2020

It's been very quiet here this month but we've got some photos and words from our ever-intrepid SouthWestern correspondent "BIG" Bob Snyder. He attended the final Western Fuel Altered Association event of the 2020 season this weekend at Tucson Dragway. Qualifying ran on Friday night, and eliminations were yesterday on what was a very cold and somewhat slippery track in the Arizona desert. With ten cars in attendance, plus a few others testing, the variety of machinery was welcomed by the fans, and the performances improved as eliminations progressed. Note that the racers were running on a 6.70 index to level the playing field for the various engine and chassis configurations.

Western Fuel Altered Invitational - ADRA Memorial Race - Tucson Dragway - Tucson, AZ - November 14, 2020

Running in conjunction with the ADRA Memorial Race, the Western Fuel Altered gang put on a great show for the Tucson fans. With a total of 10 cars attempting to qualify, over two days and three sessions, the decision was made to put everybody - at least everyone who wasn't broken - into eliminations. Only one racer. Tony D'Orca failed to appear for the first round, but a bonus of two cars testing, Rob Winefsky's AA/Fuel Altered and Phil Flower's Funny Car, added to the show.

(LEFT) Between working on Sheldon Lofgreen's fuel altered, crewman Phil Flower found the time to make a few check-out passes in his recently completed Funny Car

(RIGHT) Here's a shot from the final qualifying session on Saturday morning, featuring (near lane) Greg Holman in his "Carbon Copy" 23-T, running against (in the far lane) Sheldon Lofgreen. Holman ended up in the #6 position, with a best qualifying number of 6.911 - 205.07, while Lofgreen fell just short of the top of the charts, finishing in the #2 spot with a best of 6.795 - 191.21

Out testing in preparation for license runs in a "big show"-style AA/Fuel Altered, Sean Cash brought out his "Rabble Rouser", burning out on the left and launching hard on a planned early shutoff on the right. Assisting Cash in getting himself and the car dialled in is legendary Fuel Altered (and Funny Car and Top Fuel) owner, driver, and tuner Johnny West. The plan for Cash is to run the Midwest Fuel Altered Association in 2021

Round One Eliminations

(LEFT) In first round action, Mic Williams in the "Redeemer" (near lane) took on Scott Pareso (far lane) in the unique twin-turbo big-block Chevy. The winlight came on in Pareso's lane as he carded a 6.953 to easily cover Williams' losing 7.240 effort

(RIGHT) The next pair turned into a virtual single for the "Rust Bucket" of Flagstaff (AZ)'s Mitch Bowen (near lane) as his opponent (Pat Neal) in the far lane pitched the blower belt on the launch and barely left the starting line. Bowen stopped the clocks with a close-to-the-index 6.761 for the win

(LEFT) Another turbo monster, this time featuring a TFX hemi, was driven by Sheldon Lofgreen (near lane), matched up against Greg Holman (far lane). It was an ultra-close match as both drivers flirted with the 6.70 index and clocked identical times of 6.736. Taking the win via reaction time advantage was Lofgreen

(RIGHT) The last pair of the first round was a bit of an oddity. In the near lane, Terri Brewster launched her "Retro Rocket" front-engine dragster before the tree was activated, taking the automatic loss, and handing the win to the far lane's Steve "Flattop" Faller" in his "Bad Moon Rising" altered. He didn't get a time either as he also left before the tree, but the "first or worst" rule applied in this case

What if they held a fuel altered race and a "Top Fuel" car showed up? Keith Livsey brought out his twin-mag late-model BAE-powered dragster and was slotted into the show to help amp up the entertainment value for the fans. He qualified #1 with a 6.765, and took a first-round bye in the 9-car field, running just a tad under the index at 6.696, but nevertheless advancing to the second round

Round Two Eliminations - Quarter-Finals

With a 9-car field in the first round, the five winners (one on a bye) advancing to the second round meant someone got a single. Earning the spot was the #2 qualifier, Sheldon Lofgreen, in his hard-running turbo car, and he put down a very close to the index 6.711 to earn his spot in the semi-finals

(LEFT) In the near lane, Mitch Bowen drove the "Rust Bucket" to an easy win over Steve "Flattop" Faller" (far lane) in the "Bad Moon Rising". Bowen cranked out a solid 6.761, while Faller fell by the wayside early, finally stopping the clocks at 10.124 for the loss

(RIGHT) The second round concluded with Keith Livsey, in the far lane, matched up against the only out-of-state entry, Colorado's Scott Pareso, and in a very close race, Livsey took the win by a 6.768 to 6.840 margin. His pass wasn't quite quick enough to earn lane choice over Lofgreen in the semis though. As a consolation, Pareso took the "Best Burnout" award, doing a 1000-footer for the prize

Two views of a local blown fuel altered (AA/FA), the "Coyote Express", driven by Rob Winefsky, making some test passes for the crowd. He started the year with a runner-up finish to Ron "BIG Show" Capps at the fabled Good Vibrations March Meet, but hasn't had very many opportunities to race since. Rob was testing a new supercharger in preparation for the 2021 season.

Round Three Eliminations - Semi-Finals

(LEFT) Yes, it's another single, as 9-cars (Rnd #1) became 5-cars (Rnd #2) and now it's down to three cars in the semi-finals. The bye run this time went to #7 qualifier Mitch Bowen and he took full advantage of the situation to see just how hard he could run without worrying about breaking out of the 6.70 index. The scoreboards rang up a low e.t. of the meet 6.624 as he blasted his way into the final round. Presumably without lane choice though, due to the "breakout"

(RIGHT) In the only side-by-side match of the round, Keith Livsey (near lane), appeared to leave first, and he did, but courtesy of a red-light, giving the automatic win to Sheldon Lofgreen, in the far lane. Despite a quicker time (6.725), Livsey saw the automatic winlight come on in Lofgreen's lane, as he carded a solid 6.818 to move into the final round

Round Four Eliminations - Final

Sadly, we don't have any pictures, or first-hand reports to post, as our correspondent left before the final round as the dropping temperatures made it simply too uncomfortable to wait for the final pair. But we do have the results, as Mitch Bowen in the "Rust Bucket" took the win in the closest race of the day, turning a 6.740 over the close-but-no-cigar effort of Sheldon Lofgreen, who trailed with a valiant 6.758 effort in the loss. Making the race even closer than it appeared from the timeslips was the .017 reaction time advantage for Lofgreen that made the margin of victory for Bowen at the finish line a miniscule .0012 of a second. What a finish to a great day of racing in the Southwest.

The latest update as of November 4, 2020

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER & FUNNY CAR Finals

On the left side, it's the defending Top Alcohol Dragster national champion, Megan Meyer,,,, doing her burnout. On the right, it's former four-time champ, Joey Severance launching hard, but all for naught as he was off the throttle before half track and slowed to a losing 7.126 - 128.70 time. After a very quick leave and major holeshot on Meyer (.015 light to .176), Severance was unable to hold the lead.

Taking the win, and clinching a repeat national championship was Meyer, who kept up her pace with a great 5.200 - 281.07 (top speed of the meet) in what might have been her final pass down a dragstrip. She recently announced her retirement from the sport following her marriage last weekend. Whether she stays retired forever remains to be seen.

Two views of the Top Alcohol Funny Car runner-up, Bob McCosh Jr., burning out on the left, and launching hard with the front wheels just off the concrete on the right. Although he had the better numbers 5.499 - 266.64, to winner Greg Bellemeur's almost-as-good 5.500 - 266.06, the reaction times told the tale. Bellemeur's .028 light covered McCosh's good, but not quite good enough, .058 time, and the margin at the 1320 mark was a little more than half a car length.

PRO MODIFIED & TOP FUEL HARLEY Finals

With a short (11-car) field, the Bahrain 1 team filled the semi-final round, with all three of their cars advancing to that round of competition. Then it was down to the final two, with (on the left) Khalid alBalooshi burning out in his ProCharger-equipped 2019 Camaro, while (on the right) the screw-blown 2018 Camaro of Stevie "Fast" Jackson lights up the big Goodyears.

When the lights came down, Jackson (right side) left first by a few hundredths, followed closely by alBalooshi (left side), with his front wheels higher on the launch. Jackson steadily increased his lead until alBalooshi shut off at the 1000' mark, and coasted to a losing 5.890 - 224.96, while Jackson blasted into the winners circle with a better 5.789 - 247.47 timeslip. It was a double celebration for Jackson, as he clinched his second consecutive Pro Mod championship with a win over Brandon Snider in the second round of eliminations.

One of the fan favourite categories, Top Fuel Harley whittled the 8-bike field down to the finalists, Ricky House (left side) against long-time dominator in the class, Jay Turner (right side). Despite a quicker (.041 to .059) leave by House, it was Turner putting on the winlight with a bike-length margin at the finish line, and the boards showing the 6.390 - 214.96 decision in Turner's favour, over House's not quite good enough 6.444 - 214.79 effort.

COMPETITION, SUPER STOCK & FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN Finals

(LEFT) Hangin' 'em high on the launch in the Hancock & Lane E/SMA Cavalier is North Bend, WA's Cody Lane, enroute to a win over the just barely in the extreme left corner of the frame, Doug Engels in his D/Dragster. Lane didn't have a great start to the weekend, qualifying at the very bottom of the 14-car Comp field, but marched through eliminations and took the final round with a quicker pass and great light (.009), for a convincing seventh national event win.

(RIGHT) At the conclusion of six rounds of eliminations, it was Terry Emmons in his little SS/BS Cavalier (popular little cars eh?) taking the Super Stock trophy, his eighth national event victory, over the wild wheelstanding SS/JA Camaro of Pennsylvania's Bryan Wormer (seen below). With the handicap headstart, Wormer redlighted away his chances, and even though Emmons also left before the green, the first or worst rule always applies.

The old adage of "if ya can't be good... at least be spectacular" certainly applies in this instance, as Bryan Wormer leaves with the front end heading for the moon as he registers an automatic loss in the Super Stock final with his red-light start.

With a restricted 9" wide rear tire, the Factory Stock cars have to work very hard to keep them biting, so launching with the front end high is necessary to get enough weight on the rear wheels to keep them hooked up. Both finalists did it well, with (left side)

TOP DRAGSTER, SUPER COMP & TOP SPORTSMAN Finals

The latest update as of November 3, 2020

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Final

PRO STOCK Final

The latest update as of November 2, 2020

Here's a little teaser of just some of the photos we've got from Bob Snyder. There's more than 600 from Sunday's eliminations, so it's going to take a while to go through them and get the best shots posted. Stay tuned! These are the pics from the Funny Car and Top Fuel finals.

FUNNY CAR Final

On the left side, burning out in preparation for the final, is Ron Capps, while on the right side we've got Matt Hagan

(LEFT) Launching from the left side is Matt Hagan enroute to a winning 3.914 - 326.40 pass, putting a great exclamation mark on his championship season. On the right side, Ron Capps left hard, but ran into trouble before half track, slowing to a losing 4.463 - 173.70 in the losing effort.

(RIGHT) One final shot of Hagan with the flames up putting down some serious power.

TOP FUEL Final

(LEFT) (RIGHT)

(LEFT) (RIGHT)

Monday morning musings from Northern Thunder

It took a bit of digging, but I was finally able to find the NHRA announcement about the revised points earning procedures for the 2020 season. After operating for the past few weeks under the (mistaken, unfortunately) assumption that racers could claim points from all six of the national events that had Top Alcohol on their schedule, I found that I was "misinformed". By myself. I had to look back to a posting on NHRA's website from May 19. It reads as follows:

Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car

Alcohol National Championship: best 2 of 5 regional and best 5 of 7 national events
Alcohol Regional Championship: best 4 of 5 regional events. No home regional event minimum requirement

I remembered the two of five regional, but forgot about the 5 of 7 national rule, so while I assumed Shawn Cowie held an advantage over Megan Meyer going into the Dodge NHRA Finals, he needed to win the event, or at least reach the final round to have a chance to take the championship. When Cowie dropped a close and ultimnately heartbreaking decision to long time arch-rival Joey Severance in the semi-finals, his fate was sealed. The only way he could hope to win the big trophy was for Severance to take out Meyer in the final round.... and win the final regional event of the season at the very same Las Vegas track this coming weekend.

Cowie's Mundie's Towing team did all they could to help Severance get ready for the final as they loaned their engine to the J & A Services team and pitched in with a bunch of the other Top Alky racers to effect the swap and fully prep the car for the battle with Meyer. Joey did his job on the starting line, putting a major (.015 to .176) holeshot on Megan, but the car went silent before half track and coasted to the runner-up position.

At this point, the Cowie team must be absolutely sick of the sight of the # 2 on the side of the rear wing, but as they've battled on over the years, they can only look forward to another championship chase in 2021.

Here's the (not quite) final points standings for Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car. There's still one more regional event to run and a number of racers have not maxed out their regional points - remember - best two of five results - but the championships have been decided and there will be a very anti-ciimactic feeling to the last NHRA event of the 2020 season.

The latest update as of November 1, 2020

Eliminations Day at the Dodge NHRA Finals

We've got the first batch of photos from Saturday's action at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Captions and descriptions to follow as soon as we have time.

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(LEFT) Launmching hard enroute to another low 5.50 pass, Bob McCosh

(RIGHT) The numbers on the board don't tell the full story, with Bob McCosh's 5.552 - 265.64 pass taking the winlight over Chris Marsahll's better 5.461 - 267.96, courtesy of an .042 to .104 holeshot. The margin of victory at the stripe was just one thousandth of a second. And that's all we've got from yesterday's qualifying and eliminations action. Much more to come tomorrow from today's final eliminations.

The latest update as of October 31, 2020

Dodge NHRA Finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

7:00 AM Update

Due to an uncooperative (ie. crap) wi-fi at Motel "5.9", our photographer was only able to transmit two pictures from yesterday's Top Alcohol qualifying at Las Vegas. Thankfully they were images of the top cars in each class. Much more to come later today though and throughout the weekend. Stay tuned!

(LEFT) Normally you would expect these two cars to be the last pair in a qualifying session, but after 9- and 10-second runs in the first session, Brian Hough in the near lane, and Greg Bellemeur in the far lane, were the first cars out of the waterbox to start the second (and final) qualifier. They both improved dramatically, with Hough jumping from #15 to the top of the ladder with a 5.464 - 267.75 pass, while Bellemeur nearly matched his numbers as he leaped from #16 to #2, courtesy of a 5.487 - 264.96 clocking.

(RIGHT) The story for this pair is the opposite of the Funny Cars, as they finished the first session in the top two spots, and stayed there on the final qualifying sheets. To show the consistency of these teams, they were the quickest cars in both qualifying sessions. In the far lane, Megan Meyer followed up her 5.203 - 271.79 with an almost as good 5.236 - 269.56 pass, while on the near side, Shawn Cowie fell off slightly from his earlier 5.208 - 276.80 to a merely very good 5.258 - 276.13 in the final session. Interestingly, Cowie had the two fastest passes of qualifying at over 276-mph, beating out the BIG horsepower of the A/Fuel cars.

3:00 PM Update

Following the first PRO qualifying session, which was slowed somewhat by cone blasting, engine destroying, rearend locking, etc incidents, the Top Alcohol cars waited patiently in the staging lanes for their first round of eliminations. With two rounds of eliminations scheduled for today (second one at approx. 6:30 pm), there could be some major changes in the dragster championship before the day is over. In fact, Shawn Cowie could be crowned the new champion if his two pursuers from the Meyer Racing team, Megan Meyer and Julie Nataas lose in either the first or second round. To make that possibility a reality, Cowie would have to at least win his first round match with Dusty Green in the one-of-a-kind driver forward A/Fuel Dragster. The first pair of dragsters are in the burnout box, so stay tuned for an almost live update in a few minutes.

The latest update as of October 30, 2020

Dodge NHRA Finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

(LEFT) Making his national event debut is Chris Morel in his "Charger" nitro funny car. (RIGHT) Making his Vegas debut is Top Alcohol Funny Car contender (currently #5 in the points standings) Bob McCosh Jr., all the way from Columbia, Missouri.

(LEFT) Lurking under the big awning are the two Kansas killer Kars, with Julie Nataas (cuirrently #3 in the Top Alcohol Dragster standings), and in the background, her teammate and defending champion Megan Meyer. (RIGHT) Putting on his "game face" is Top Alcohol Dragster points leader Shawn Cowie as he aims to upgrade the number on his rear wing from #2 to #1.

The early bird gets the best parking spot as our intrepid lensman, BIG Bob Snyder slides his road warrior van into an otherwise empty media parking lot.

The latest update as of October 25, 2020

Shawn Cowie wins the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil

The points battle for the Top Alcohol Dragster championship intensified in a big way when Shawn Cowie took full advantage of Megan Meyer's absence during eliminations to take the event win and jump back into the lead in the point standings. And in Top Alcohol Funny Car, Doug Gordon won his first championship when the defending champion, Greg Bellemeur lost in the semi-finals. Congratulations to the BETA Motorcylces gang on a very well-deserved championship. The standings going into the final two races of the season are below. Remember to click on the small graphics for easier viewing.

The latest update as of October 24, 2020

BIG News from Baytown - Megan Meyer will NOT run in eliminations

A bolt out of the blue came over the video feed from Houston Raceway Park when NHRA's lead announcer, Alan Rinehart announced that Megan Meyer had left the track to attend her wedding. Presumably that happy event had been scheduled far in advance and prompted her to only make a qualifying effort at the SpringNationals, and not run in eliminations. Rinehart reported that she would receive first round loser points, and still stay ahead of her closest challengers for the national championship, Shawn Cowie (32 points behind), and team-mate Julie Nataas (53 points in arrears).

However, and we're still waiting for confirmation on this point, but the NHRA website states "All remaining event non-qualifiers or no-shows in eliminations will automatically receive 10 points". If that caveat applies in this case, then Meyer is running a serious risk of losing her lead in the championship standings. Even if she is credited with the 31 points awarded to first-round losers, she could still find herself in second place by the end of tomorrow's eliminations.

Looking further down the standings shows that even Duane Shields (75 points back), and Jackie Fricke (86 points behind), could signifcantly close the gap on Meyer heading into the final national event of the season at Las Vegas next weekend. Only Fricke (of the aforementioned names) is not entered in that race... so far. And speaking of Las Vegas, there is a Western Regional event running there this weekend, with nine Top Alcohol Dragsters and six Funny Cars competing. The only Top Ten racer in attendance at that race is Joey Severance (#7) and he can only gain 21 points with an event win. On the Funny Car side, the highest racer in the standings is Chip Beverett and he's way down in the #14 spot with no chance to challenge for the championship.

First round of eliminations for the alky cars is at the end of the day (5:30 or 6:00 pm) at Houston, with the balance of eliminations tomorrow. At Las Vegas, the first round is scheduled for 2:00 pm, with the semi-finals at 5:00 and the finals at 7:00 pm. If you're a real hardcore fan, you can follow the action on a live feed from The Strip at LVMS through this Drag Racer TV link, courtesy of Competition Plus.

The latest update as of October 23, 2020

Top Alcohol Dragster

And then there were two ... national events that is. With the 2020 NHRA Camping World schedule rapidly winding down, the championship battles are intensifying as literally "every round counts" at this point. That axiom is especially so in the Top Alcohol Dragster division, as Shawn Cowie lost his very short-lived lead in the point standings following a second-round loss at Dallas last weekend. Jumping back to the top was defending national champion Megan Meyer, who brought the hammer down hard in the final round, blasting out a 5.126 - 279.09 to obliterate first-time finalist, and worthy opponent, Aaron Cooper.

Meyer's performance nearly equalled her other-worldly dominance displayed at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. She rewrote the record books with a blistering 5.097 - 278.81 pass in the second-round, then followed it up with an even more amazing 5.090 - 280.54 effort in the semi-finals. It certainly looks like Team Meyer is on a mission to send her into "retirement" on a high note with back-to-back championships.

But the championship chase is not over yet, as Cowie is still within striking distance, just 32 points behind Meyer, with three points earnings events left on his schedule. And it could come down to the second Las Vegas Western Region race, happening the week following the Dodge NHRA Finals. If Cowie could win that event, he would gain 42 points that could ultimately decide the TAD champion. But to be in a position to capitalize on that last race of the year, he must keep pace with Meyer this weekend and next at Houston and Las Vegas. Even better, if he could close the gap during those two races, then the pressure on him to go for broke at the last race would be lessened somewhat.

First things first though, as qualifying starts later today at Houston, with a short 13-car field in Top Alcohol Dragster. The big bonus available for the low qualifier is a possible second round bye run directly into the semi-finals. Considering that the #1 qualifier gets to face the racer at the bottom of the field, there will be some very serious attempts to secure that spot. We'll bring the results as soon as they come in today, and throughout the weekend, so stay tuned to this space.

Top Alcohol Funny Car

The situation is much clearer on the flopper side of the alchohold pits. The current, and almost season-long points leader is Doug Gordon and he could clinch the championship if everything falls his way this weekend. He's got a 124 point lead over the #2 (and defending champion) Greg Bellemeur, and is 134 points in front of #3 Brian Hough, going into this weekend's race. If Gordon qualifies for eliminations, which is a foregone conclusion with only ten cars in the pits, then Bellemeur has to win the event to stay in contention for the championship. Even a runner-up finish would see the chase end on Sunday afternoon.

Hough's chances are even slimmer, as he needs to win both races and have Gordon fail to qualify at the Las Vegas event, which is not likely as there are only 15 cars on the pre-entry list at this time. So, for all intents and purposes, Hough is looking at a third place finish in the championship standings, a drop of one position from his #2 finish last season.

The latest update as of October 12, 2020

TOP ALCOHOL National Points Standings and "COUNTDOWN" Status

Don't go reaching for the magnifying glasses just yet. Click on the tables below and they will open in a larger, and much easier to read, format.

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER -

The following tables show just where the racers are at this moment, and what their prospects are over the next four weeks. Note that in the Top Alcohol Dragster standings, the top eight runners are all entered at this week's event in Dallas. It may go a long way towards determining the national/world championship. With a revised points structure due to the truncated season, racers can count points earned at all six national events that Top Alcohol competes in, along with two (of their first five) regional races.

The current points leader in TAD, Shawn Cowie has a definite leg up on most of his competitors, as only Duane Shields and his "Northwest Nemesis" Joey Severance also appeared at Pomona. That gives this trio an extra points boost and may well be the difference maker by the end of the season. With the revised points earning opportunities on the regional front, once a racer has two regional wins, they will have amassed the maximum points available. Three racers have done just that, with Megan Meyer using them to stay close to Cowie, while Jackie Fricke and Rachel Meyer have done well regionally, with two wins apiece, but not so well on the national stage and are well back in the standings.

The second through fourth racers in the standings cannot claim any more regional points, while Cowie still has one chance to gain the maximum, at the final event on the 2020 calendar, the Las Vegas regional race happening after the Dodge NHRA Finals. Also in the same boat is Joey Severance, who could use that final race of the year to gain an extra 21 points towards his total. One spot below Severance in the standings, Josh Hart could gain 42 points at that event, while Cowie stands to also gain 42 points if he could win the event. Finally, long-shot contender (#8 in the points currently) James Stevens, could likewise add 42 points to his total with a win at the Las Vegas regional.

There's so many scenarios possible, but it will all become at least somewhat clearer by Sunday afternoon when eliminations conclude at the Texas Motorplex. With a full field of blown alky (four) and injected nitro (twelve) cars entered, and points earning capabilities as follows: 1st-round loser (31), 2nd-round loser (42), semi-finalist (53), runner-up (64) and winner (85) points, the standings could look quite different by next week. Note that oil-downs cost five points per occurence.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR -

It's been an almost all Doug Gordon season, despite losing in the final round at the Winternationals back in February. It didn't take him long to take over the top spot though, with a victory at the "Baby Gators" event in early March putting him in the #1 position. Then the pandemic hit and everything came to a very sudden halt for nearly four months. The long layoff didn't hurt Gordon at all though, as he domianted the Denver race in late June to max out his regional points in just three outings. At this point he was so far ahead of his nearest competitor, Greg Bellemur that the championship was looking like it mnight be locked up early.

By the time the second national event of the season unfolded, nearly seven months after the season opener, the nerest pursuer was Brian Hough, only 49 points in arrears, while Bellemeur sat in fourth place, 59 points behind. The surprise Winternationals winner Aryan Rochon, was still hanging in the chase, less than 50 points behind. From there down to the bottom of the Top Ten, the fifth place racer, D.J. Cox Jr. was 80 points down, but still well ahead of the rest of the list. As in the dragster standings, a good showing at the Winternationals was the biggest factor in the points race going into the traditional "Big Go" at Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

The latest update as of October 12, 2020

Banner courtesy of NHRA

NHRA Western Regional - Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park - Chandler, AZ

Here's the pictures from the first two rounds of eliminations on Saturday at Phoenix. We'll provide the details on the final round, but sadly, no pictures of them. As per usual, the dragsters came out first, with four pairs ready to battle for the event win. Following them were the two pairs of funny cars, unfortunately far from a full field.

(LEFT) Casey Grisel

(RIGHT) Ron Anderson (left lane) 13.783 - 72.26 vs Casey Grisel (right Lane) 5.352 - 263.67

(LEFT) Steve Griboski

(RIGHT) Joey Severance

Joey Severance (left lane) 5.616 - 258.86 vs Steve Griboski (right lane) 12.329 - 77.68

(LEFT) Johnny Ahten

(RIGHT) (left lane) Brandon Greco 9.309 - 88.66 (right lane) Johnny Ahten 12.746 - 61.04

(LEFT) Shawn Cowie

(RIGHT) (left lane) Shawn Cowie 5.368 - 269.46 (right lane) Mike Austin 18.864 - 37.83

(LEFT) Ray Martin

(RIGHT) (left lane) Ray Martin 5.758 - 248.43 vs (right lane) Hunter Jones 5.810 - 252.05

(left lane) Hunter Jones 5.810 - 252.05 vs (right lane) Ray Martin 5.758 - 248.43

(LEFT) Don Hudson

(RIGHT) Jay Payne

(left lane) Jay Payne 5.707 - 259.96 (right lane) Don Hudson 11.559 - 80.27

(LEFT) (left lane) Brandon Greco vs (right lane) Casey Grisel

(RIGHT) (left lane) Joey Severance vs (right lane) Shawn Cowie

The scoreboards tell the tale as Severance advances to the final round on a holeshot. The true margin of victory was 0.032 seconds; half a car length.

The latest update as of October 11, 2020

Banner courtesy of NHRA

NHRA Western Regional - Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park - Chandler, AZ

After a long hot day in the blazing SouthWestern sun, our correspondent, "BIG" Bob Snyder left before the second, and what became the final, qualifying session. With just enough cars to fill the dragster field, and only four funny cars, the decision to axe the third session was made by NHRA Division Seven Director Mike Rice. Here's the final qualifying positions and numbers.

The latest update as of October 10, 2020

NHRA Western Regional - Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park - Chandler, AZ

We've got some pictures from yesterday's Top Alcohol (Dragster and Funny Car) first qualifying session at the NHRA Division Seven divisonal-Western Regional event. Our ever-intrepid photographer, Bob Snyder left after the first session due to the extreme (100+ F) temperature, but he's promised to be back at the track today for eliminations. We'll have more details as we get them.

(LEFT) Making his season debut at Phoenix was Hunter Jones in his 2010 Monte Carlo.

(RIGHT) Pairing up with Jones in the first session, Don Hudson burns out for the first time in quite a few years. It's been even longer since he last ran in Top Alcohol, as his nitro nostalgia flopper has been competition choice in recent years.

In the left lane, Hunter Jones was in trouble right from the hit, and his 14.110 - 82.14 left him at the bottom of the slim 4-car field. In the right lane, Don Hudson didn't fare that much better, as his 7.064 - 141.83 showed that he was off the throttle before half track. Despite the medicore timeslip, he was still #2 in the field after the session.

(LEFT) Turning the big slicks for the first time since the Winternationals (seven months ago!), Alaska's Ray Martin showed no signs of rust,

(RIGHT) Entering the last month of his drag racing career, soon-to-retire Jay Payne pulled through the waterbox in his famous "ThunderSlug" Camaro.

From the left lane, Jay Payne got off the line in fine shape, but was out of it before the 330' clocks, finally timing in at 8.356 - 146.96 to end up in the third spot in the field. On the other side, Ray Martin jumped to the top of the ladder with a very decent 5.799 - 248.93 clocking to easily outdistance the rest of the field.

After the first session ended, the qualifying sheet for the Funny Cars went as follows:

(LEFT) Coming down from the high country of Colorado, Steve Griboski, showed up to compete in his only second regional event of the year, and looking to improve on his 5.613 best at Denver in June.

(RIGHT) Another racer making his first appearance since the season-opening Winternationals, was Los Angeles county fireman Johnny Ahten, and he got up on the tires quickly in his first burnout of the weekend.

In the left lane Steve Griboski made his first shot count as a solid (and season best) 5.559 - 262.59 lit up the scoreboards. Meanwhile, in the right lane, Johnny Ahten had his injected fueler grumble and drop cylinders enroute to a so-so 5.774 - 252.54 opening run.

(LEFT) In what appears to be an old Jim Whiteley (J&A Services) car, Mike Austin came down from Oregon and tried to get on the right side of the win-loss ledger, after three straight first-round exits in previous 2020 appearances.

(RIGHT) In the left lane Mike Austin put down a decent 5.629 - 250.55 to sit in the middle of the pack after the first session, while over in the right lane, California's Ron Anderson lit up the tires - as you can clearly see in the photo - on the launch and slowed to a bottom of the field 14.855 - 71.27 clocking.

(LEFT) It was certainly surprising to see Brandon Greco haul his car all the way from Pennsylvania for this race. With his maximum number of regional events already claimed, and well down in the national standings, his appearance was a bit of a mystery. However, given the unpainted/wrapped body panels, he could have been testing a new car. Even stranger, he hasn't entered any of the three remaining national events.

(RIGHT) With a chance to move into the top ten in the national standings if he could win the event, Casey Grisel made the short tow to Wild Horse with co-owner and crew chief Jerry Darien ready to lay down some serious nitro-powered numbers.

In the left lane, Casey Grisel put down a solid opening effort, stopping the clocks at 5.489 - 260.51, while over in the the right lane, Brandon Greco outran him with a slightly better 5.451 - 255.82 on his first full pass of the weekend. (He made two test runs on Thursday but was off the throttle early on both).

(LEFT) With the last pair being the top two contenders in the field, Shawn Cowie lights up the tires big-time on his usual banzai burnout.

(RIGHT) Doing almost the same pre-run routine, Joey Severance shows some serious RPM's on the burnout with the hard-running J&A Services car prior to facing arch-rival Cowie.

Saving the best (pair) for last, Shawn Cowie (on the left side) pounded out a big number to kick off his weekend, with a 5.294 - 274.05 lighting up the boards, while over in the right lane, Joey Severance had some issues just past the 330' clocks - after an awesome 0.891 60' time - and pedaled his way to an early shutoff 5.845 - 193.43 time.

(LEFT) Just past the 60' clocks, Shawn Cowie is already showing a lot of tire speed enroute to the quickest and fastest time of the first session.

(RIGHT) We close our qualifying coverage with a view of Shawn Cowie's scoreboard, showing the 5.294 - 274.05. His short numbers were as follows: 60' (0.937), 330' (2.389), 660' (3.511), 660' speed (220.73), 1000' (4.472).

After the first session ended, the qualifying sheet for the dragsters went as follows:

The latest update as of October 6, 2020

FUNNY CAR CHAOS World Finals - San Antonio (Alamo City Motorplex) - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

FUNNY CAR CHAOS World Finals - San Antonio (Alamo City Motorplex) - Eliminations - Round One

FUNNY CAR CHAOS World Finals - San Antonio (Alamo City Motorplex) - Eliminations - Round Two

City

FUNNY CAR CHAOS World Finals - San Antonio (Alamo City Motorplex) - Eliminations - FINAL Round

FUNNY CAR CHAOS World Finals - San Antonio (Alamo City Motorplex) - Pit Shots

The latest update as of September 20, 2020

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

Round One Eliminations

At the conclusion of the first round, long-time series regular - and a nitro racer from waaaay back - Fred Farndon made his final pass down the dragstrip after announcing his retirement at this event. The crew followed him down to tow him back to the pits for the final time and wrap up his six decade long career in drag racing. And "Play It Loud" turned down the volume forever.

Round Two Eliminations (Semi-Finals)

Final Round Eliminations

The latest update as of September 12, 2020

Another week, another Funny Car Chaos event. This weekend it's coming from Kearney Raceway in the heart of corn country. Last night's second qualifying session was pretty much a write-off due to unseasonably cold track temps (62 F!), but the first session, in the early afternoon was a good one. This exhibition event (to replace the cancelled Martin, MI points race) featured a wild assortment of Fuel Altereds, some on nitro, some on alky, one turbocharged, along with some new faces to the Chaos show.

Here's our first installment of Friday's qualifying, with much more to follow. As always, stay tuned!

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway - Qualifying Session #1

Pit Shots

(LEFT) Here's something you don't see every day: an honest-to-goodness twin-engine blown gas-burning Top Gas Dragster from 1970. Fifty years ago, Ray Motes drove and partner R.C. Williams wrenched this behemoth to some of the most awesome performances of that era.

Nostalgia Front-Engine Dragsters

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway - Qualifying Session #2

The latest update as of September 10, 2020

Going into Saturday afternoon's final qualifying session, the low e.t. was held down by Nick Poloson at 3.954, the #8 qualifier (bottom of the "A" Field) was Keith Jackson at 4.465, and the #16 car (bottom of the "B" field) was Gary Wheeler Jr. at 4.850. Top speed from Friday was clocked by #2 qualifier, and FCC points leader, Ken Singleton at 192.88 mph. With the "Mass Chaos" car of John Umlauf parked with terminal blower problems, just four cars remained to attempt to fight their way into eliminations.

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway - Pit Shots

Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)

Eliminations - Round One

Eliminations - Semi-Finals

Eliminations - Finals

Winners Circle

The latest update as of September 7, 2020

There's been so much happening in the world of drag racing over the past month that it's been very difficult to keep up with. Changes and cancellations and revisions to schedules have been the predominant theme. However, there has been some racing thrown into the mix with two more NHRA national events at Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Raceway. Yesterday we saw the conclusion of the 66th annual U.S. Nationals (DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA US Nationals to be exact) and the day before, the sixth event on the FUNNY CAR CHAOS schedule went off before a packed crowd at Asbury, Missouri's Mo-Kan Dragway.

We'll start today's update with a look back at qualifying Friday night at Mo-Kan. Details will follow soon. We've also got all the action from Saturday's final qualifying session and eliminations from Mo-Kan. Look for that coverage tomorrow. And, as a special bonus, we've got some great pictures from the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals in early August. Stay tuned for that report.

Originally scheduled to be run in late April, the "better late than never" axiom applied, as 22 rompin' stompin' Funny Cars invaded Mo-Kan Dragway for the third annual Decades of Wheels event. With this race being the sixth of seven points events on the FCC calendar, it was extremely important for the championship contenders to run well and improve their positions in the standings. We start our coverage with Friday night's first two (of three) qualifying sessions.

The latest update as of August 21, 2020

We've got some bonus race coverage to present today, as our old (well... he's not that old) friend Bill Jefery recently attended the third of four NHRA Indy events, the DODGE Nhra Indy Nationals and got some great shots from the grandstand with his new long lens. Having few spectators in the stands helped him avoid the complications of people getting in the way of the images. We'll add the details to go with the pictures when we have time, but for now, here's the first installment of the two-day event.

We'll start our report on the third NHRA Indy Nationals with some qualifying action for the Top Alcohol cars. Details will follow soon....

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #2

Julie Nataas 5.341 - 266.74

(LEFT) (near lane) Krista Baldwin 5.472 - 265.64 vs (far lane) Mike Bucher 5.356 - 267.80

(RIGHT) (near lane) Will Smith 5.531 - 262.85 vs (far lane) Brandon Greco 6.080 - 182.98

(LEFT) (near lane) Mick Steele 5.369 - 268.87 vs (far lane) Jackie Fricke 5.305 - 274.78

(RIGHT) (near lane) Duane Shields 5.287 - 278.46 vs (far lane) Rachel Meyer 5.175 - 285.53

Rachel Meyer

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #2

(LEFT) (near lane) Tony Bogolo 5.712 - 257.53 vs (far lane) D.J. Cox Jr. 5.627 - 234.98

(RIGHT) Rob Pfeister 5.890 - 242.71

Phil Esz 5.627 - 244.12

MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

TOP FUEL HARLEY - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

PRO MODIFIED - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

PRO STOCK - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

(LEFT)

(RIGHT)

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) (near lane) Angie Smith 6.910 - 195.34 vs (far lane) Angelle Sampey 6.847 - 195.00

(RIGHT) (near lane) Andrew Hines vs 6.855 - 196.93 (far lane) Hector Arana Jr. 6.938 - 195.76

Andrew Hines

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #!

(LEFT) (near lane) Dale Creasy Jr. 4.122 - 280.60 vs (far lane) Mike McIntire Jr. 4.288 - 223.99

(RIGHT) Blake Alexander 4.109 - 308.78

(LEFT) Terry Haddock 4.968 - 158.33

(RIGHT) Cruz Pedregon 5.101 - 144.71

(LEFT) (near Lane0 J.R. Todd 4.020 - 319.67 vs (far lane) Alexis DeJoria 5.494 - 130.32

(RIGHT) (near lane) Matt Hagan 3.982 - 320.81 vs (far lane) Tim Wilkerson 4.735 - 170.99

(near lane) Jack Beckman 4.707 - 170.43 vs (far lane) Tommy Johnson Jr. 3.976 - 318.54

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #1

(LEFT) Pat Dakin 4.030 - 275.62

(RIGHT) Terry McMillen 4.299 - 191.29

(LEFT) Antron Brown 3.868 - 311.41

(RIGHT) (near lane) Leah Pruett 3.887 - 314.68 vs (far lane) Doug Kalitta 4.089 - 257.28

Steve Torrence 3.814 - 321.81

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qaulifying Session #3 (FINAL)

(LEFT) Shawn Cowie 5.284 - 276.63

(RIGHT) (near lane) Will Smith 5.527 - 259.66 vs (far lane) Brandon Greco 6.319 - 137.71

(LEFT) Krista Baldwin 7.745 - 112.44

(RIGHT) (near lane) Duane Shields 5.313 - 276.69 vs (far lane) Rachel Meyer 5.237 - 281.95

TOP FUEL HARLEY - Qualifying Session #2

Ryan Peery 6.569 - 210.05

(LEFT) (near lane) Ricky House 6.515 - 211.49 vs (far lane) Tracy Kile 6.615 - 221.20

(RIGHT) Tii Tharpe 7.169 - 146.24

PRO MODIFIED - Qualifying Session #2 (FINAL)

(LEFT) Todd Tutterow 6.019 243.50

(RIGHT) Chip King 5.917 - 244.47

Brandon Snider 6.001 - 240.68

PRO STOCK Qualifying - Session #2 (FINAL)

(near lane) Erica Enders 6.620 - 208.91 vs (far lane) Greg Anderson 6.612 - 207.88

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Qualifying - Session #2 (FINAL)

Steve Johnson

(LEFT) (near lane) Angie Smith 6.878 - 196.50 vs (far lane) Scotty Pollacheck 6.892 - 195.11

(RIGHT) (near lane) Andrew Hines 6.905 - 196.73 vs (far lane) John Hall 6.908 - 194.32

(LEFT) John Hall

(RIGHT) Ryan Oehler 6.922 - 196.99

FUNNY CAR Qualifying - Session #2 (FINAL)

Cruz Pedregon 3.988 - 316.38

(LEFT) (near lane) Jack Beckman 4.621 - 179.90 vs (far lane) Tim Wilkerson 4.516 - 189.95

(RIGHT) (near lane) Matt Hagan 4.457 - 199.29 vs (far lane) Tommy Johnson Jr. 4.141 - 244.12

TOP FUEL Qualifying - Session #2 (FINAL)

(LEFT) (near lane) Kyle Wurtzel 4.818 - 153.54 vs (far lane) Lex Joon 4.444 - 189.58

(RIGHT) Shawn Langdon 4.187 - 216.69

(LEFT) Justin Ashley 4.586 - 170.06

(RIGHT) Steve Torrence 3.854 - 321.35

SUNDAY - Eliminations

TOP FUEL - Eliminations - Round One

(LEFT) Pat Dakin (near lane) (0.082) 3.837 - 320.74 vs Doug Foley (far lane) (0.089) 3.893 - 270.27

(RIGHT) Doug Kalitta (0.070) 3.767 - 325.85

(LEFT) Lex Joon (0.091) 4.586 - 181.86

(RIGHT) Joe Morrison (0.102) 4.083 - 204.56

(LEFT) Shawn Langdon (near lane) (0.055) 3.839 - 304.19 vs Leah Pruett (far lane) (0.074) 3.749 - 325.53

(RIGHT) Terry Totten (near lane) (-0.020) 4.075 - 282.24 vs Billy Torrence (far lane) (0.085) 3.801 - 314.12

FUNNY CAR - Eliminations - Round One

(LEFT) Tim Wilkerson (0.086) 4.413 - 203.25

(RIGHT) Mike McIntire Jr. (0.092) 4.608 - 187.83

Terry Haddock (0.169) 4.194 - 277.89

PRO STOCK - Eliminations - Round One

Jason Line 0.074 6.607 - 208.33

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - Eliminations - Round One

Hector Arana Jr. (0.042) - 6.897 - 196.39

(near lane) Jerry Savoie (0.002) 6.920 - 194.46 vs (far lane) Scotty Pollacheck (0.022) 6.861 - 198.29

(LEFT) Scotty Pollacheck

(RIGHT) Matt Smith (0.066) 7.006 - 195.73

Andrew Hines (0.047) 6.902 - 196.85

PRO STOCK - Eliminations - Round Two

(near lane) Chris McGaha (0.031) 6.654 - 207.66 vs (far lane) Jason Line (0.042) 6.632 - 208.01

PRO MODIFIED - Eliminations - Round Two

(near lane) Khalid alBalooshi (0.089) 5.795 - 250.60 vs Jonathan Gray (0.026) 5.834 - 249.35

TOP FUEL HARLEY - Eliminations - Round One

(near lane) Ryan Peery (0.121) 5.515 - 219.04 vs (far lane) Tracy Kile (0.097) 6.619 - 207.34

Tracy Kile

Randal Andras (0.098) 6.467 - 213.68

Tii Tharpe (0.051) 6.522 - 195.56

TOP FUEL - Eliminations - Round Three

(LEFT) (near lane) Leah Pruett (0.084) 3.861 - 316.60 vs (far lane) Steve Torrence (0.078) 3.819 - 320.51

(RIGHT) (near Lane) Terry McMillen (0.071) 4.043 - 282.85 vs (far lane) Doug Kalitta (0.089) 4.059 - 260.41

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